1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nanowire composite and a method of preparing the nanowire composite. More specifically, the present invention relates to a nanowire composite that includes a template having a plurality of hollow channels, nanowires formed within respective channels of the template, and a functional element formed by removing a portion of the template so that one or more of the nanowires formed within the portion of the template are exposed outside of the template, and to a method of preparing the nanowire composite.
2. Description of the Related Art
Resonators are currently used as small-sized and lightweight filters of mobile communication terminals and other devices. Conventional air-gap resonators include a resonance element and an air gap formed under the resonance element. The resonance element includes a bottom electrode, a piezoelectric layer and a top electrode sequentially laminated from the bottom to the top, and the resonance element and an underlying substrate are separated by the air gap. Such an air-gap resonator is commonly fabricated by forming a via hole extending from the outside of the device to a sacrificial layer formed within the device and feeding an etching solution into the device through the via hole to remove the sacrificial layer, thereby forming an air gap at the position where the sacrificial layer is removed. However, this method requires the use of a sacrificial layer, rendering the fabrication procedure complex. In addition, since etching must be performed through a via hole, damage to the resonator is inevitable, thus causing deteriorating the resonance characteristics of the resonator. Furthermore, etching of the air gap on a scale of 30 nm or less has been recognized as being difficult.
On the other hand, a variety of substance sensors capable of detecting various biological substances, chemical substances, environmental substances, gases and the like have received recent attention. In particular, active developments are being made in sensors capable of detecting and analyzing various substances. More particularly, such developments include a sensor that detects the amounts of substances that are surface-adsorbed on the sensor based on piezoelectronic properties. The sensor is operated by measuring variations in resonance frequency due to subject substances and comparing the measured variations with data previously stored in a database.
The thinner a sensing element of the sensor becomes, the better the sensitivity of the sensor. However, the formation of a thin sensing element is difficult due to current technological limitations. Thus, there remains a need to develop a material or method that can be used to fabricate small-sized, highly sensitive sensors capable of simultaneously detecting various substances of samples in an easy manner, even substances in small amounts.